Stage Manager

Seeking a Stage Manager to work alongside Director Joshua W. Kelley (National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Pace University) and Artistic Producer Ali Skye Bennet(current Associate Producer at Vineyard Theatre, former Producing Coordinator & Company Manager for Transport Group Theatre Company) on THE UNTITLED GINSBERG PROJECT, a collaboratively generated theatrical response to Allen Ginsberg's groundbreaking poem "Howl." A workshop / development phase is slated for April-May 2014, followed by a full-scale, world-premiere production in New York City and “Footsteps of Ginsberg” tour across the country.

As an integral member of the Director-Artistic Producer partnership, the Stage Manager will coordinate and supervise all elements of the workshop / development phase, which we are calling “Phase 1.” This includes scheduling and running all rehearsals, generating and distributing daily reports and all necessary paperwork, initiating and managing communication among the creative team and actors, serving as a liaison between production staff and management staff, and all other standard stage management responsibilities. This workshop will require stellar calendar management skills, seeing as the design team will be heavily involved in the entire rehearsal process for Phase 1 -- not to mention the ability to orchestrate workshop presentations and Q&A sessions for the whole creative team / our artistic peers throughout the process in order to better evaluate the work we are creating. THE UNTITLED GINSBERG PROJECT in particular requires a lot of skill in organizing and managing an extensive and constantly evolving prop list / collection (including some set, costume, and sound elements) that will be used in rehearsal as a part of the experimentation process.

The most important job that the Stage Manager will have for Phase 1 is to be the creator and manager of a working draft of an audio-visual script / score and physical map of the show as a whole, to be used as the starting point for “Phase 2”: standard rehearsals followed by a full scale production. This is a devised process that must be meticulously documented, always having up-to-date drafts of the 3-dimensional work we are doing in the room, as well as archiving all previous sketches / drafts for reference. The Stage Manager will develop - in collaboration with the Director - a record-keeping and distribution system, to better allow for this style of collective play-making to manifest as recorded and useful data. In many ways, this role will be close to the sort of work an Associate Director / Choreographer or Literary Manager would do.

Qualified candidates must be highly organized with strong communication skills. This is a real “passion project” -- the passion & drive to collaboratively create, nurture, develop, and produce new, exciting theatrical work is essential. The Stage Manager must be able to work well as a team player with the lead artists, but also be able to work independently. Flexibility and “out-of-the-box” thinking is essential, as well as the ability to quickly adapt with the unique and continually-changing needs of a devised piece of theatre, and a willingness to get your hands dirty when necessary.

The ideal candidate will bring:- 2-3 years of professional stage management experience. - A passion for developing new work and knowledge of the NYC artistic community. - Experience in devised and/or immersive theatre is a plus. - Superior planning and organizational skills with a detail-oriented mindset. - Excellent communication skills and stellar follow-up ability. - Capacity to translate artistic needs and values into executable strategies. - Demonstrated ability as a documentarian and record-keeper for a project being created (i.e. “written”) from the ground up. - Technologically savvy individual, adept at using, editing, troubleshooting, and archiving various media formats. - Strong self-motivator with a “fire in the belly” to be continuously two steps ahead of everyone else. - Flexibility, creative-thinking, and drive; a strong sense of self, tempered by an empathetic nature and emotional intelligence. - Knowledge of computers (both PC and Mac products) and information technology are essential. - A sense of humor paired with a superior work ethic and a calm -- a confident presence during chaotic work periods is essential.- A personality willing to “jump in” whenever and however needed to get the job done. - Be able to lift up to 30 lbs. and climb stairs and ladders comfortably. - Experience as an Associate Director/Choreographer desired but not necessary. Schedule: Production meetings will begin in mid-April. Phase 1 will begin on/around April 26th, and wrap-up no later than May 22nd. Tentative schedule is: Saturday & Sunday 11am-6pm; Monday OFF; Tuesday-Friday 7:30-10:30pm. Subject to change and potentially flexible based upon the company’s needs.